Bible Exploration - Workshop:   Temple Center  

 

Month:      Aug.     Bible Theme:     Put on the whole armor of God   

 

Year (B):      1          Scripture:         Ephesians 6:10-20                          

 

Bible Memory Verse:        “Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his 

                                      Power.  Put on the whole armor of God.” (Eph. 6:10-13a)

 

Workshop

Concept

Teacher

1.      Temple Center

 

The sword of the Spirit and the helmet of salvation.

 

2.      Video Center

 

Shoes to make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace.

 

3.      Computer Center

 

Shield of Faith

 

4.      Drama Center

 

The belt of truth and the breastplate of righteous­ness

 

 

LEARNING OUTCOMES: 

·         The explorers will be able to find their way around the Bible and will be better equipped to use it!

 

MATERIALS:

·         Children or Youth Bibles (to give to the youth)

·         Long roll of paper (say, 3ft wide and 10 feet long)

·         Paints, pens, markers, etc.

·         Material to make a crown of thorns

 

PLAN:

·         Welcome explorers and go over memory verse.

·         Discuss the “Sword of the Spirit”

·         Make Giant Bible Outline (see attached sheet)

o        Brainstorm all the Bible Stories explorers can remember

o        Draw the stories or draw something to symbolize each story on a piece of paper

o        Add stories to their proper place on the timeline

·         Give out Bibles and weave a crown of thorns (see attached sheet)

·         End in prayer.  Ask God for humility and courage.

 

ADAPTATIONS:

Children

Youth

·         Give an appropriate age Bible

 

 

·         Give a study Bible

 

 

A Bible Outline

 

The Bible is a collection of books (the word Bible means book).  Most of them were originally stories that were handed down orally.  Still, despite being written at different times by different people in different situations, the Bible tells a coherent story.  It goes something like this:

 

 

Creation       Moses &              King David &              The return and                      Pentecost &             The Revelation of

And fall      the Exodus            promises to him         the hope for a Messiah         the church               John (the end)

 

 

 


  Promises to          The Promised            The Exile                  Jesus and                     Paul’s travels

  Abraham                 Land                                                         the cross                         & letters

  And Sarah

 

In this outline, the Bible has a beginning, an extended story, and an ending.  The main points one may want to emphasize include:

1.      CREATION AND FALL – God creates a world.  The world rebels.

2.      PROMISES TO ABRAHAM – God begins to create a people, a faithful minority.

a.      God promises several things to Abraham:

                                                              i.      Land

                                                            ii.      Descendants

                                                          iii.      The Covenant

                                                           iv.      All nations will be blessed through him

b.      The Rest of the Bible grows out of these promises.  Added to them are:

                                                              i.      The exodus and the ten commandments

                                                            ii.      The promises to David that he will always have a king on the throne.

1.      This led to the hope of a messiah.

2.      The years of kings in Israel and Judah also led to the rise of the prophets who called the people to return to God and fueled the hope for a messiah who would come.

                                                          iii.      Jesus finally, and fully, fulfilled the promises to Abraham (and the messianic hope of David).

                                                           iv.      This is why Paul talks of how we can become heirs to the promises of Abraham through faith in Christ.

c.      The Church, then, is now the new creation, the new people of God that God began to created when he called Abraham and Sarah.

3.      IN SHORT:

a.      The story of the Bible can be outlined as follows:

                                                              i.      God Creates a world.  The world rebels

                                                            ii.      God creates a people who will be faithful to their creator

1.      God calls Abraham and Sarah and makes promises to them.

2.      The rest of the Bible is how these promises are:

a.      Fulfilled by God in the promised land and the covenant

b.      The covenant is broken and the visible signs of the covenant are all lost.

                                                                                                                                      i.      The Temple is destroyed.

                                                                                                                                    ii.      The people are taken away from the promised land.

                                                                                                                                  iii.      No son of David is King.

                                                                                                                                   iv.      The Old Testament ends with the prophets calling for a Messiah (an anointed one, that is, one who is chosen by God to save the people).

c.      The Promises to Abraham are finally and completely fulfilled in Christ.

3.      Christ comes

a.      The messiah comes to save God’s people

b.      The church is born

c.      We can become children of Abraham by faith in Christ.

                                                          iii.      God will bring the world to an ending

1.      The revelation of John completes the story.

2.      Just as God set the stage on which the drama of the human life is played out, God will one day bring everything to a completion.

 

All the stories of the Bible can be placed on this outline.  The driving force behind all the Biblical stories is GOD FULFILLING ALL THE PROMISES MADE BY GOD. 

 

PREPARE A LARGE OUTLINE FOLLOWING THE ABOVE OUTLINE:

1.      Discuss the passage from Ephesians and the Bible as the “sword of the Spirit”

a.      We need to understand the Bible in order to use it.

b.      You will be looking at the “big picture.”

2.      Have the explorers come up with stories they remember from the Bible

3.      Write the name of the story or draw a symbol of it on a piece of paper. (e.g., you might draw a cross to represent Christ)

4.      Put the story on the Large Bible outline that you have prepared.

5.      Discuss how each story fits into the larger picture.

a.      Where are we in this outline? (We are in the period of the church)

b.      How can we use this sword? (the Bible?)

                                                              i.      Read is regularly.

                                                            ii.      Discuss it with friends.

                                                          iii.      Keep a journal along with reading it.

                                                           iv.      Mark favorite parts.

                                                             v.      It is a tool, if you use it you will become skilled in it.

6.      Hand out “Swords of the Spirit,” the Bibles, to the explorers. 

 

THE BIBLE IN A NUTSHELL

My favorite way to summarize the Bible is in Genesis.  After Adam and Eve sin they hide from God.  God then asks Adam (which means literally, “humanity”) “Where are you?”  The Bible is the story of God’s search for us.  While we bee-bop along God is seeking us out.  God finally finds us through Christ.

 

 

The Crown of Thorns

 

In Ephesians, Paul associates the helmet of salvation with the sword of the Spirit.  If you would like, use a crown of thorns as a possible “helmet of Salvation.”  Ask the following questions:

1.      Who wore a crown of thorns?

2.      Why did the Romans put a crown of thorns on Jesus? (to make fun of him)

3.      Why would we want a crown of thorns as a “helmet of salvation”

a.      Here, you may want to discuss humility

b.      How does humility protect us?

c.      Why put humility together with the sword of the Spirit?

4.      Don’t get too deep with younger explorers.  The crown of thorns can simply:

a.      Remind us of Jesus. 

b.      Remind us that Jesus died for us.

c.      Remind us that Jesus loves us.

d.      The people who killed Jesus put a crown of thorns on his head to make fun of him.  We wear a crown of thorns to honor Jesus.